December 6 marks the release of Gran Turismo 6 and the 15th anniversary of the racing game franchise. To mark the occasion Polyphony Digital Inc. has partnered with a number of automakers for an initiative called Vision GT to come up with a vision of the sports car of the future.

Among the list of participants are leading design studios from Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Honda, Infiniti, just to name a few. The results will be made available to players of Gran Turismo 6 as special downloadable content.

The first car from the project to be revealed is the AMG Vision GT, created at the Mercedes-Benz Research & Development Center in Sunnyvale, California. The car’s futuristic shape was inspired by the iconic 1952 300 SL, and includes an oval grille with variable pattern LEDs. For even more added realism the Mercedes-AMG sound specialists created the sound for special V8 engine sound for the virtual 577hp AMG V8 biturbo engine in the car.

The best was yet to come, as the Mercedes unveiled a full-size concept of teh AMG Vision GT at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week. Unlike the virtual AMG Vision GT, the full-size concept was powered only by an electric motor so it could be moved around the convention center.

Do you have a few truly unusual photos in your Instagram collection? If so, then now’s your chance to add them to #Untamed, a unique digital photo installation inspired by the new Mercedes-Benz CLA.

To participate, go to untamed-installation.com, connect to your Instagram profile and select the three most unusual photos from your stream. Each of your photos will be evaluated (it’s not clear exactly how), and given an #Untamed Score. The score is based on how original your style is, and how different it is from others that have been submitted.

As you can see in the screen grab above, my picture of a wooden cat that doubles as a birdhouse scored a healthy 89, yet a giant zombie hand scored a paltry 36.

The installation was created by Hamburg agency Jung von Matt/Alster, and will be on display in Paris in April 2013, hopefully with a few of my Instagram photos included.

Actor Willem Dafoe has the distinctive look and gravely voice that seem a natural fit to play the devil. In Mercedes-Benz’ Super Bowl a young man in a diner stares through the window as a billboard for the all-new CLA is being mounted across the street. A black-clad Dafoe materializes on the other table to the opening percussion of the Rolling Stones ‘Sympathy for the Devil‘ and an Faustian offer that the young man can have the car and everything that goes with it.

The young man imagines himself arriving at a Hollywood premiere, posing with Kate Upton for the paparazzi and dancing Usher. Next, he’s on the highway to Vegas before being chased by crowds of young girls, then racing against a Formula One car.

But before the devil can get his signature on the contract, the last corner of the billboard is completed showing that the car’s price starts at an affordable $29,000.

12 / You’re Never to Old to Sit on Santa
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11 / Nissan Damned Ponies
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7 / Spotify Launches in U.S.
After years of false starts, it was big news in July when European-based online music service Spotify finally launched in the U.S. (but still nothing for Canadian listeners)Read more…

6 / Müller Wonderful Stuff Ad
German yogurt-brand threw everything on the screen, including unicorns, the Knight Rider car and Yogi Bear in this crazy TV commercial and campaign.
http://randymatheson.com/muller-wunderful-stuff-yogurt-campaign-features-unicorns-yogi-bear-k-i-t-t/

5 / Pan-Am Social Media
ABC launched an ambitious promotional campaign for Pan-Am using Facebook, Twitter, GetGlue to no avail as the series was shelved after just 9 episodes.Read more…